30 U.S.C. § 1201 : US Code - Section 1201: Congressional findings

Search 30 U.S.C. § 1201 : US Code - Section 1201: Congressional findings

The Congress finds and declares that -
(a) extraction of coal and other minerals from the earth can be
accomplished by various methods of mining, including surface
mining;
(b) coal mining operations presently contribute significantly
to the Nation's energy requirements; surface coal mining
constitutes one method of extraction of the resource; the
overwhelming percentage of the Nation's coal reserves can only be
extracted by underground mining methods, and it is, therefore,
essential to the national interest to insure the existence of an
expanding and economically healthy underground coal mining
industry;
(c) many surface mining operations result in disturbances of
surface areas that burden and adversely affect commerce and the
public welfare by destroying or diminishing the utility of land
for commercial, industrial, residential, recreational,
agricultural, and forestry purposes, by causing erosion and
landslides, by contributing to floods, by polluting the water, by
destroying fish and wildlife habitats, by impairing natural
beauty, by damaging the property of citizens, by creating hazards
dangerous to life and property by degrading the quality of life
in local communities, and by counteracting governmental programs
and efforts to conserve soil, water, and other natural resources;
(d) the expansion of coal mining to meet the Nation's energy
needs makes even more urgent the establishment of appropriate
standards to minimize damage to the environment and to
productivity of the soil and to protect the health and safety of
the public.(!1)
(e) surface mining and reclamation technology are now developed
so that effective and reasonable regulation of surface coal
mining operations by the States and by the Federal Government in
accordance with the requirements of this chapter is an
appropriate and necessary means to minimize so far as practicable
the adverse social, economic, and environmental effects of such
mining operations;
(f) because of the diversity in terrain, climate, biologic,
chemical, and other physical conditions in areas subject to
mining operations, the primary governmental responsibility for
developing, authorizing, issuing, and enforcing regulations for
surface mining and reclamation operations subject to this chapter
should rest with the States;
(g) surface mining and reclamation standards are essential in
order to insure that competition in interstate commerce among
sellers of coal produced in different States will not be used to
undermine the ability of the several States to improve and
maintain adequate standards on coal mining operations within
their borders;
(h) there are a substantial number of acres of land throughout
major regions of the United States disturbed by surface and
underground coal on which little or no reclamation was conducted,
and the impacts from these unreclaimed lands impose social and
economic costs on residents in nearby and adjoining areas as well
as continuing to impair environmental quality;
(i) while there is a need to regulate surface mining operations
for minerals other than coal, more data and analyses are needed
to serve as a basis for effective and reasonable regulation of
such operations;
(j) surface and underground coal mining operations affect
interstate commerce, contribute to the economic well-being,
security, and general welfare of the Nation and should be
conducted in an environmentally sound manner; and
(k) the cooperative effort established by this chapter is
necessary to prevent or mitigate adverse environmental effects of
present and future surface coal mining operations.